‘Tis the season we all say.
We will soon have our annual day of thanksgiving that, for many, is nothing more than stuffing our birds and ourselves. It kicks off a busy month of deal-hunting, purchasing, baking, eating, partying, and giving. But giving what?
We seem to have accepted that this is THE season for giving. Many of our charities make their annual appeal for support and we look forward to giving and receiving presents. We have compartmentalized and confined one of the many things that made our country unique and successful from the start: Christian giving…or, Christian charity…or, Christian love.
I’ll spare you a deep history of discussion, debate, and intrigue over whether the Bible should be translated charity or love (1 Corinthians 13). To provide an overview though, the gentiles (Greeks) had no concept of, or word for, the love of God and had to invent an appropriate noun for it (agape) when translating the Septuagint. There was no Latin word for agape; so, the Latin Vulgate translated agape as caritas/charitas which is the root of our word charity. In any case, I think we can all agree that love and charity are one and the same in spirit. Can we really have one without the other?
Now, charity is one form of giving. The Bible tells us about charity, sharing, tithing, and supporting our local body. There are many articles, theories, and discussions about Christian giving. Nearly everything pertains to time, talents, and money. Discussions of stewardship of every resource for it comes from God and everything is His.
Again, we have compartmentalized giving. Before we talk about what we should give, let us look at what we have been given…
We have been given life – eternal life! We have been given creation and dominion over it. We have been given the word of God. We have been given mercy, grace, spiritual gifts, salvation, and the Holy Spirit. We have been given the Son… for the Father so loved the world, He gave His only begotten Son.
Christ gave Himself for us! He gave everything for us!
We cannot give anything meaningfully until we give ourselves to Christ. We must confess Jesus as our savior and submit to Him. We crucify our old selves with Him to become a new creature. We present ourselves as a living sacrifice to Him. In the vast scheme of life, this is the only thing we can truly give, everything else is given to us by the One who owns all, we can only make the decision on how manage and distribute it.
We must realize that giving isn’t limited to the financial aspect we have made it. It is sacrifice, attention, time, sorrow, joy. It is love, agape or charitas, it is love. We are loved by God who made us and must give that love to others.
2 Corinthians 9:6-7
But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.
The more we give, the more joy we find and the more our love grows. This is also true in our relationship with Christ…the more of ourselves we freely give to the Lord, the more our love grows and the more peace and joy we know in every situation. However, it is our choice.
In brief…
- God is love. (1 John 4:8)
- And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5:18)
- Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights (James 1:17)
- For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)
- present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service (Romans 12:1)
- Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. (Matthew 22:37)
- Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. (John 13:34)
True giving is not throwing coins into the red kettle, sending a check, having a present drop-shipped from Amazon. Those are acts of giving, but without love they are all vanity. Without Christ, love is empty. True giving doesn’t happen only between November and December, it happens every day. True giving begins by presenting your heart to Christ. Love the Lord and all else shall follow.
Philippians 4:5-7
Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
A Special Note:
We here at 2 Shirts Ministry know a love and peace that comes only from Jesus Christ. We strive to show that love and peace to everyone. Please pray for us and pray about what you can do for others. Pray for the peace that surpasses all understanding. Pray for all God’s people and we’ll pray for you.
If you are called to help, check out this page.
God Bless you all,
Chaplain Maloney